


don't go where I can't follow

by yoonyuten (sunflowerhsh)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Businessmen, M/M, Minnie is the only one with braincells, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Sushi and wine is the way, Ten is trying to woo yuta back, Yuta won't make it easy for him, friends to strangers to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28330479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowerhsh/pseuds/yoonyuten
Summary: Time stops, the room is suddenly too crowded for his liking, the air starts to get stuffy, the noise grows louder and the crowd's faces blur out. The only face he can make out is the one he was used to see every day, who has the prettiest eyes that looked at him with what he liked to think was love, the same eyes who stopped being a part of his life years ago.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Nakamoto Yuta
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	don't go where I can't follow

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm alive. I've always wanted to write greek mythology so this is my take on how the underworld works. I hope you like this story.  
> Special thanks again to Angie, for always helping me with my stories.

"Boss, I got a call from the headquarters. They want to know if you'll be attending the anniversary dinner," Ten's assistant told him through the speaker.

"Sure, as long as there's nothing on my schedule for tomorrow?"

"Your schedule for tomorrow night is clear, sir."

"Oh well, it's been a while since I've joined those events, what could go wrong? Minnie, confirm my assistance."

"On it."

The Underworld, the small company he joined many years ago is now one of the top corporations in the country; with more than ten subsidiary companies under its belt, the underworld seems to be getting bigger each day. Ten steps out from his car and looks at the vast building in front of him, The Underworld is now a 40-story building painted in black and gold, standing out from the boring skyscrapers surrounding it, outstanding people. He chuckles, it's really been a long time. He gives his keys to the valet man and fixes his midnight velvet suit; these events are always a showdown to see who is the best dressed and whose company is doing better, a little bit of healthy competition is good, even though all of them were great colleagues. At least that's what Hades has been trying to achieve for years now, he has grown soft after getting married.

It’s ostentatious. The main hall is just as he remembers it, golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, imitating dripping gold, black walls adorned with gold details and sculptures at every corner of the room. Obsidian floors and glass cocktail tables arranged around the hall. Hades' taste remains the same even after a long time, he thinks as he takes a champagne flute from a golden tray. He mingles around for a while, having small chats with his colleagues, most of them are surprised to see him making an appearance; others just brush it off and don't ask about it – he likes those better.

He’s chatting with his old friend, Kun, when he feels an arm around his neck. "Look who we have here, Thanatos and Hecate themselves," Sicheng says.

"Oh, but you're the man of the night, Hades," Kun tells him.

"I'm more excited about Ten finally attending than anything else, to be honest. Don't exile yourself from the rest, Hecate, is not a good thing. We all miss you, don't we Kun?"

"That's correct, you don't even reply in the group chat anymore," Kun says dramatically.

"Okay okay, stop moping around guys. I'm sorry I've been busy with the company," Ten retorts. 

Kun laughs, "we all are, darling." He sips his champagne and walks away. 

Ten looks at Sicheng, in hopes that maybe he´ll clue him in and tell him what’s wrong, but he only receives with a pat on his shoulder. 

"Don't fuck it up tonight, Ten," he says with a sad smile. 

What the fuck that’s supposed to mean? Why are they acting so weird tonight? It's not a sin to focus on his job, is it? These people really, judging him for not replying on a groupchat? For not attending some boring parties and company dinners? C'mon, they have to be kidding. Irritated, he walks to the bar. 

He gets himself a glass of wine, The Underworld always has the best wine. Ten smells it and sighs, it’s probably the only thing he missed from these parties. He takes a sip, it’s as good as he remembers it. He makes a mental note to ask Sicheng for a bottle to go. He sits by the bar, in a golden stool, puts his glass on top of the golden counter and looks back to the crowd. As much as he wants to look nonchalant about it, attending this party is actually a good thing for him. Ten finally feels like he has achieved something, his company is rising steadily to the top and he can finally have some time to mingle around and drink stupidly expensive wine as if nothing else mattered. 

After being lost in his thoughts for a while, something – or better said, someone – catches his eye. This man is probably the most beautiful person he has seen tonight, scratch that, the most beautiful man he has ever seen. A few meters from him, there’s a man sipping champagne with such elegance and grace Ten has to take a second glance to confirm if he’s really seeing him or if it’s just a figment of his imagination. Ten can only see his side profile from where he is but he can make out white hair that reaches his shoulders, golden earrings shine under the hall’s chandeliers, face with full glam makeup – he can see the glitter from meters away, highlighter doing the gods’ job, defining high cheekbones and lips tinted with a color so dark it resembles wine. Ten can feel his mouth going dry, he feels the urge to ask for another drink, so he does; the bartender says nothing about Ten not even sparing him a glance while asking for said drink.

With a new drink in hand, he goes back to his business, ogling the beautiful man and waiting for the alcohol to kick in and gives him that boost to approach him. That is, until he sees Kun talking to the man and Ten finally gets to see his face clearly. Time stops, the room is suddenly too crowded for his liking, the air starts to get stuffy, the noise grows louder and the crowd's faces blur out. The only face he can make out is the one he was used to see every day, who has the prettiest eyes that looked at him with what he liked to think was love, the same eyes who stopped being a part of his life years ago. 

Yuta looks different, from his hair to the clothes he's wearing tonight, makeup and accessories he wouldn't have even dared to use years ago. He looks good, really good in fact; too good, too beautiful. He carries himself with confidence and elegance, and with that face is no wonder. He watches Yuta talking to Kun, still giving all of his attention to the person he is talking to. His eyes shine so bright, so dark that Ten is sure they could hold galaxies inside, new worlds yet to be discovered. His beaming smile, brighter than all of the gold that decorates the hall. Ten can feel his chest contracting, it aches, it aches badly – he missed that smile, his favorite thing in the world. 

When he's alone at his office at ungodly hours of the nights, Ten thinks about him, sometimes he takes his phone and dials his number without ever pressing the green button. Other times he types a message, deletes it, then writes it again, debating whether to send it or not. He never sends it; he feels too guilty, he doesn't know how to approach Yuta anymore. There’re too many things he wants to say, to explain, too many words left unsaid, he can't even figure it out himself.

"Ten!" Kun calls him from where he is, talking to Yuta. 

He suddenly wants the ground to swallow him whole and spit him out somewhere else, where he doesn't have to face Yuta when he looks like he was showered in gold and dressed by the most demanded designers in the industry. 

He puts up his drink and shoots him a smile, hoping that Kun understands that he's gonna finish his drink before heading to his inevitable doom. He gulps it in a go, and gets going; his legs not quite responding to him, sweat forming at the back of his neck and hands, mouth dry again and heart surely beating faster. 

When he reaches Yuta and Kun's table, it feels like he aged 5 years. Properly looking at Yuta is his first mistake, his wavy white hair has golden highlights that reflects all the light that dares touch it; his eyes look fierce, kohl eyeliner smoked out to the outside of his eyes, a sultry look paired with a true gold shimmer on his eyelids and a bold burgundy matte lip. Ten is sure his lungs gave out on him, breathing becomes a difficult task, with effort he manages to convince himself that breathing is a thing he needs to do, God-incarnate near or not. Yuta is nursing his drink, sitting down on a high stool, with crossed legs wearing a pitch-black velvet suit, that looks similar to his own; golden chains around his neck and wrists, looking almost unreachable and yet sitting in front of Ten. 

"If you excuse me, Sicheng is looking for me," Kun says as he answers a phone call with an irritated look.

Ten just stands there, not saying a word, unsure of where to start, his mind not cooperating at all, not able to articulate words. 

"Hey, stranger," Yuta says. 

Yuta is looking at him with unreadable eyes and a wicked smile, while he holds his champagne flute with one hand. Ten feels his body going rigid, he opens his mouth but no sound goes out. He shoots him an awkward smile. 

Yuta makes an affirmative hum, he takes a tentative sip of his champagne; Ten tries not to stare at his lips touching the glass and once he fails, unabashedly looks at Yuta sipping his champagne, looking at the glass to see if the lipstick left a mark. His lips still look immaculate, dark and inviting. He shakes his head, trying to focus. 

"Why are you not talking, stranger?" Yuta says in a tone that makes Ten think he's actually worried about him, but he's not, he knows he’s not – it's a trick. 

"Cerberus got your tongue?" He laughs, mocking him. 

"No—" Ten manages to say. 

Before he has the chance to say anything else, he can see Yuta getting up from his seat, walking away from him. This is his last chance to explain himself, he's not going to let him go without even talking first, he better get a grip before making the situation worse. He grabs Yuta's arm tightly, in an attempt to make him stop. Yuta stops his tracks and turns around, he looks at Ten with a piercing look, then it melts into something that looks like sadness, the Gods should punish him for daring to do so. 

"This won't do," Yuta sighs. "Want another drink, stranger?" he offers. 

Ten nods. Yuta starts walking to the bar, Ten following him from behind, with slow heavy steps. 

When they reach the bar, Yuta reaches out to the bartender, who was busy with other orders, and shoots him a coy smile. "Please give us a shot of your strongest," he says loudly. The bartender drops the order he was fixing and quickly begins to prepare the drinks. 

"You look dashing tonight," Ten blurts out. He regrets the words the moment they leave his mouth, that was such a lame compliment, he definitely should've said something more elaborate, but his brain decided it was a good idea to turn off. 

"Dashing?" Yuta giggles. "With your reaction I was hoping for something more dramatic. Breathtaking. Murderous. Out of this world. Something like that," he looks at Ten with disappointment. 

He doesn't know if Yuta is joking or not anymore, his sense of humor used to be more lighthearted, Ten notices as he spends more time with him. Does Yuta hate being with him that much? Are these the results of his selfish decision? He didn't consider Yuta's feelings in the equation, only his, and now he's facing the consequences. There's no trace of the sweet Yuta he used to know, instead there's a whole different person in front of him. 

“Yuta, stop that,” Ten says with a smile, in hopes to lighten up the mood. Maybe if he indulges into Yuta’s game it would be easier to talk to him. 

“Fine.” A pause. “You look stunning tonight, it took me a while to recognize you,” he finishes and involuntarily looks at Yuta’s eyes. He can’t decipher them, and that loss feels like a bucket of cold water. 

Yuta fetches their drinks, thanking the bartender and giving him a wink before he turns around to resume his job. 

“Only tonight? What a shame,” Yuta rolls his eyes and takes a sip of his new drink, a golden liquid; Ten is not quite sure now what is the kind of alcohol it contains. 

Ten takes his drink and finishes it quickly, he can feel the hot liquid sliding down his esophagus, and leaving a bitter taste on his mouth. Not his brightest idea, but the only way he’s going to be able to have an actual conversation with Yuta.

Yuta guides him to a more secluded space, opens a high glass door with black frames that lead them to a balcony. The night’s chilly breeze hits Ten’s cheeks, a big contrast from the temperature inside the hall, just stepping outside sobers him up a little. 

Yuta perches his elbows on the concrete railing, eyes looking to the city. Despite being late, the city is alive, the noise can be heard even from this height, lights adorn the monotone buildings and streets, it looks livelier, not the usual dull colors from the day. Red, yellow, white and blue eyes reflect into Yuta’s eyes, making Ten’s theory about the galaxies inside of his eyes a little more plausible. Silence is excruciating, the minutes pass like hours; he knows he’s supposed to say something but he doesn’t know what to say.

“Why did you push me away?” Yuta mutters, not a glance spared, eyes trained to the city. 

Ten breathes out, “I don’t have a good reason.” He looks down, too ashamed to face Yuta.

All of the ‘reasons’ he has ever come up with sound like bullshit. He has no excuse for treating Yuta like that, for ignoring him despite the other always reaching out for him first, for distancing himself from Yuta without giving him a proper explanation. He still doesn’t understand why he acted that way before. In an attempt to shut down that nagging at the back of his head, probably his conscience telling him that what he did was wrong, he busied himself with the company, working nonstop to the point of exhaustion; not getting any breaks, pushing everyone out of his life, throwing himself into the abyss without looking back – because who was the time to think about opportunities lost when exhaustion curls around you and leaves no time for self-reflection. What a foolish decision, his company prospered at a speedy rate, but there was no one who he could celebrate his achievements with, the goals he had lost significance and value. His company was at the top, but he was alone. 

After no response he looks back at Yuta, but he’s still not looking at him. This might be his last chance to fix things, so he gathers the strength to keep going.

“I am sorry, for pushing you away, for ignoring your calls, your messages, for my sudden absence.” His throat constricts, there’s a knot in his throat, an agonizing pain crawling from the back of his head. “I gave myself up to the company, I’ve been on my own for years now.”

It’s not the complete truth, but it’s not a lie either. Even if he hasn’t brought up his feelings for Yuta for a while now, they are still tangible, present. He feels sick, after all these years and he is still the same coward who can't tell Yuta that he loves him. It’s too late now, Yuta must hate him for being a bad friend, for neglecting him for the last two years.

“You were right, that’s a lame excuse,” Yuta says. He tears his eyes from the city view and looks at Ten. He looks tired now, not even his makeup can hide the expression lines and sad eyes. “You were always there for me and suddenly you weren’t, like if you vanished from my life,” looking straight at him, with piercing dark eyes that he’s sure can look inside his soul. 

“Yuta, I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me with such a lame apology but I truly am sorry for ghosting you,” Ten blurts out fast. 

Yuta looks at him with now an irritated expression, “You know what, you’re right. We’re both busy men. See you around, stranger,” Yuta says before leaving Ten alone, with the night sky clouding his mind, unsaid words and unshed tears.

Ten is sure Yuta just gave him a warning, he just made clear that this is the last time he's giving Ten the time of the day so he can explain himself, and what Ten did was screw his last chance. He's being serious this time, parroting the same excuse Ten has been using all along. He's going to move on, Ten thinks; Yuta is already tired of Ten's indifference, of Ten not reaching out to him for a long time, Yuta probably thinks Ten doesn't care about their friendship anymore and he's the only one waiting for something that probably won't happen. Ten wants to prove Yuta wrong, he wants to come clean, to tell Yuta he was a coward and that he still is, that he's sorry for disappearing without explaining the reason why, he wants to make things right, he wants to tell Yuta how he feels. 

He laughs, bitterly. There’s no time to mope around, he better take this situation into his hands. He has to make sure Yuta forgives him, or at least try to get closure with this issue. He doesn’t want to be away from Yuta anymore, he won’t neglect his feelings anymore. His new mission is to pamper Yuta, spoil him rotten, show him how much he cares about him, he needs to do this. It doesn’t matter if Yuta doesn’t feel the same, they can be friends – Ten just wants him back in his life. He is now a different person, he won’t make the same mistakes as before, he’s gonna get his man back! That's his new mission. 

Ten needs a plan. He opens a new note on his phone titled ‘Mission: woo yuta back’ and starts listing the things he can do to show Yuta that he cares and that he’s not being a coward anymore.

First, he needs help. The only person he’s not ashamed to ask is his secretary (and best friend) Minnie; they became good friends due to working together most of the time, also both of them are from Thailand.

"Minnie, I need to talk to you about something very important," he says in front of her desk. 

Minnie looks at him as if he has an extra head, scrunches her nose but nods. She stands up and follows Ten to his office. 

Ten's office is minimalistic – an open space with only few things to serve as decoration, monochromatic furniture and a nice view to the city. Minnie sits on the black couch as she waits for Ten to sit on the seat in front of her across a rectangular glass. 

"What's clouding your little head?" she asks. A sly smile already forming on her lips. 

Ten groans, he thought it would be easier to talk about this with Minnie, her head is always full of great advices, but, how should he start? What should he say first? Ask her if she would like to help him with coming up with a plan or just if she thinks this is a good idea.

"Is this about Yuta?" Minnie asks nonchalantly, as she looks at her freshly painted red nails. 

"How do you know?" Ten is surprised, he hasn't told Minnie about what happened during the party. 

Minnie looks at him and sighs, "I think you forgot I was there too! I saw you staring at the poor man the whole night, you looked pitiful." 

You were there?"

"Yes, I was. Thank you for ignoring me all night, I should be mad at you. I can't believe you begged me to go with you, but then forgot I was there," Minnie said dramatically, placing a hand on her forehead and wiping a fake tear from her eyes. 

Shit. Well shit. It's true, he asked Minnie to go with him to that stupid party because he was too scared to face everyone alone. In his defense, his mind was all over the place when he saw Yuta there. 

"Minnie, I'm sorry, let me treat you to lunch today." Minnie loves fancy restaurants. 

"Make it all week," Minnie says. 

Ten agrees, it is the least he can do for her. 

"But let me say, it was a good night. I met your little crush's secretary and she is a sweetheart," Minnie tells him, in a teasing tone. 

"He is not my crush!" Ten tries to defend himself. 

Minnie looks at him with that 'really?' expression on her face, as if she knows that Ten is lying.

"Okay, fine. He is. Please help me to get him back," Ten blurts out in a single breath. 

"Calm down, geez. You're finally admitting it, I'm proud of you. Thank the lord, I was tired of you moping around the office every time you finished signing papers, I didn't even feel bad for giving you more work to do if it meant shutting you up" She tells him. 

"It wasn't that bad," Ten mutters, suddenly very embarrassed of his past actions. 

“You're lucky I tolerate you enough.”

Ten scoffs, but it is lighthearted; he really appreciates Minnie’s company and friendship, even if that means to listen to her rants while she paints his toenails bright pink while getting wine drunk at night. 

“So, what are you planning to do?” Minnie asks him.

“I don’t really know,” he sighs, “but it won’t be easy to make him talk to me again,” Ten concludes.

“You need to go all out then, don’t hold yourself back,” Minnie tells him as she starts typing something on her phone. 

“What do you have in mind?” Ten asks, intrigued.

“Unleash the romantic fool inside of you!” Her eyes actually shine while saying it. “Send him gifts and daily messages, do everything you didn’t do before.” 

“That’s insane,” Ten retorts. Will he be able to do all that? Will that even work? He has to try.

“C’mon I’m sure he’s gonna like it, you’re kinda lame but this will make you a little less lame,” Minnie says. She’s roasting him but her plan actually makes sense.

“What should I do first?” he asks, unsure. 

“Send him flowers, I’m pretty sure you still remember his favorite ones,” Minnie says. “I’ll order them for you, everything is easier with technology,” she adds.

"Okay, then order a sunflowers bouquet," Ten says after hesitating a couple of times. 

"Sunflowers? That is actually very cute, " Minnie says and she gets busy with her phone once again. "Here, you can write a cheesy message so they can put it on the letter attached to the bouquet," Minnie explains. 

Ten looks at her and nods, taking the phone on his hands. What does he even write? He can't perhaps write something like 'I'm sorry for being an asshole, I hope you forgive me soon xoxo' so he just settles for something more lighthearted, 'sunflowers for the sun himself'. He presses save so Minnie doesn't laugh at him for being a hopeless romantic, then gives her the phone back. 

"Done," Ten says. Was that okay? Will Yuta like them? Was his message appropriate? Too many thoughts cloud Ten's mind. 

"Relax, don't overthink." Minnie presses her index finger to Ten's forehead, "You're gonna get wrinkles on your beautiful forehead if you keep worrying like that," she scolds him and then gets up from the couch. 

"Wine and sushi at yours if this goes wrong?" Ten asks, before Minnie leaves the office. 

"Only if you don't cry," she shoots him a smile and a nod. 

Ten laughs. He knows Minnie is not being serious; if this plan fails, Minnie is going to be the first one to cheer him up. She always jokes around but cares about him enough to help him out with this silly plan. 

Ten wakes up by the notification sound of his phone. It rings consequently more than 3 times; loud enough to disrupt Ten's trip to dreamland. He partially opens his eyes, desperately trying to find the source of the noise, tossing around his bed until he finds his phone by the nightstand. 

His room is already bright, illuminated by golden rays that leave warmth in every place it touches. It's a nice day, Ten glances at the window, that is almost the entirety of the wall, and looks at the blue sky. He remembers his ringing phone, so he opens it thinking that they might be something happening at the company.

He is wrong. He finds several unread messages from a name he thought he was never going to see popping up on his phone again. Yuta texted him, which means he received the flowers.

Ten excitedly opens the chat only for his smile to fall almost instantly. Yuta sent him a picture of the bouquet, a gigantic sunflower arrangement with baby breaths and a tiny note attached to the side, followed by a sequence of messages that read:

'I know what you're trying to do' 

'Did you think it was going to be easy?' 

'Try harder' and added a kiss emoji. 

Ten is fucked, he didn't have much expectations on the bouquet but he didn't think it was going to be such a failure. He groans, his plan needs an upgrade, this type of things won't work for sure. Ten doesn't even know how to reply to Yuta's messages. When did he get so bold? The Yuta he remembered was a little bit shy and got flustered easily. 

He decides to reply later and opens Minnie's chat instead. 

Ten types 'wine and sushi at yours tonight, it failed big time' and hits send. 

Minnie's reply comes almost immediately, 'what went wrong?' 

To which Ten replies with a screenshot of Yuta's messages and a crying emoji.

'Are you stupid?' he reads Minnie's reply that is also followed by a secuence of rolled eyes emojis. What did he do now? 

'He didn't reject you, he's giving you another chance.' Minnie's reply sends Ten mind into a spiral. So, this means he actually has another chance to make it right. Ten sighs in relief, he was sure Yuta was shutting him down for real this time. 

'I am stupid.' Ten types and presses send. 

'Oprah' Minnie types. Now she's really making fun of him. 

'we need to make a better plan' she sends too, Ten laughs, but agrees. He's not letting this mishap get into his head. He has a goal to reach. 

**Author's Note:**

> let's be friends on [twitter](https://twitter.com/HSunHyuk?s=09)


End file.
